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US Gov't Outraged over Leaked Fed Secrets via P2P

by Brandon Dimmel on July, 30 2009 at 08:07AM EDT

According to a recent report, extremely sensitive government data has appeared on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. The information is reported to include the precise locations of American nuclear silos and FBI surveillance photos.

News of the leak came at the recent House Government Oversight & Government Reform Committee hearing on the issue of P2P software sharing. An oversight, indeed: researchers from Tiversa Inc., a company responsible for poring over peer-to-peer networks in order to find sensitive data leaks, reported that employees had discovered Social Security information and the personal details for every U.S. Army master sergeant.

Precise Locations of Weapons Grade Nuclear Fuel

That's not all: the medical records of about 24,000 patients from a Texas hospital are also floating around out there. Of course, the most concerning of all the leaked information may be this: a "detailed list of [a] civilian nuclear complex, including precise locations of weapons grade nuclear fuel." (Source: tgdaily.com)

According to Tiversa Inc. chief executive Robert Boback, it's extremely concerning. "Every nuclear facility, every agency, " he said. "This is information that is not even subject to government Freedom of Information Act [request], however, you can access it on peer-to-peer, in plain text."

Gov't Promises to Push Back

The government's answer to this leak is not yet official, but Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns, a Democrat from New York, has announced he will push to have P2P software banned from all U.S. government offices, with presumably stiff penalties.

Towns also believes the time has come to better educate Americans on the threat posed by P2P information sharing. "The file-sharing software industry has shown it is unwilling or unable to ensure user safety. It's time to put a referee on the field," Towns quipped. (Source: washingtonpost.com)